


juice pops and soup

by hailingstars



Series: someone gets hurt (febuwhump 2021) [27]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: FebuWhump2021, First Day of School, For Morgan, Gen, Parent Tony Stark, Precious Peter Parker, Sick Peter Parker, Sickfic, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, poor Tony his heart can't take his kids growing up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:36:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29765265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hailingstars/pseuds/hailingstars
Summary: “Peter?” he asks. “Shouldn’t you be locked up in school?”“Don’t feel so good.”“We’ve talked about that phrase, Pete,” says Tony.“Sorry.” The kid’s voice sounds truly miserable. “Can - Ccan -” Peter stops talking, and Tony’s ears are assaulted by the loudest sneeze he’s ever heard. “Can you come over? I need soup. And Gatorade. I think I’m dying.”ORTony is sad after dropping off Morgan at school for her first day. Luckily he gets distracted for a bit looking after Peter when he’s sick.
Relationships: Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: someone gets hurt (febuwhump 2021) [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138436
Comments: 18
Kudos: 324
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	juice pops and soup

“Daddy,” says Morgan. “You have to let me go now.”

Tony continues holding her, as he watches her fellow kindergarteners hug their parents goodbye and run inside the classroom. 

“You know, Mo,” says Tony. “You can always take a gap year.”

“Tony,” says Pepper, lightly touching his arm.

“Ok fine.” Tony puts Morgan down in the school hallway. She looks so small under her Spider-Man backpack. Way too tiny to spend the day without her parents. 

“Bye!” Is the only farewell they get before Morgan zips out of their sight and into the classroom. 

Tony turns his head towards Pepper. “I don’t like it.” 

“We’ve met her teacher,” says Pepper. She’s already starting to walk away from the open classroom door. “And you like her.” 

Tony has to admit Morgan got the best teacher in the elementary school. A regular Miss Honey, but that still doesn’t mean he’s ready to leave his daughter behind. 

“Wait, Pep!” calls out Tony, but she’s already turning the corner. 

He sighs, and takes a peek inside the classroom. 

Morgan’s sitting at a table, excitedly talking with two other kids with the biggest smile on her face. It brings a sad sort of smile to his own face, and he sluggishly follows his wife out to the car, abandoning his baby to the school system. 

*

The penthouse is quiet when it’s just Tony. He doesn’t like it, and his mind dwells on Morgan not being there and about how one day she’ll leave for college, about how she’s growing up. Time only speeds up the older he gets. He’s sure one day he’ll blink and she and Peter will be completely grown. 

He’s dwelling on these thoughts when his phone buzzes. Seeing Peter’s name flash on the screen fills him with joy, but also gives him pause. 

“Peter?” he asks. “Shouldn’t you be locked up in school?” 

“Don’t feel so good.” 

“We’ve talked about that phrase, Pete,” says Tony.

“Sorry.” The kid’s voice sounds truly miserable. “Can - Ccan -” Peter stops talking, and Tony’s ears are assaulted by the loudest sneeze he’s ever heard. “Can you come over? I need soup. And Gatorade. I think I’m dying.” 

Tony stands from the couch. “Sure thing, kid. I’ll be there in a jiffy.” 

“Thanks,” he says, though it sounds more like tanks. 

He hangs up his phone, and heads to the drug store, where he buys way more shit than Peter had asked him for. He figures if Pete had wanted someone who won’t overact, he would’ve called Happy. 

Tony has so much stuff, some he bought and some he brought from home, that he struggles to carry it up to May and Peter’s apartment in one go. He manages it, though, and his heart melts when Peter unlocks and opens the door for him. 

His kid has a blanket wrapped around his body. His face is pale, and there’s absolute misery leaking out from his eyes. 

“Oh, kid,” says Tony, stepping inside the Parker apartment, and setting his bags down. He shuts the door behind him. “You look terrible.” 

“Tanks,” he says. 

Tony looks around, and takes in the chaos of the apartment. There’re used kleenex all over the floor in the living room. Empty Gatorade bottles. Hoodies, and mountains of throw blankets. And it’s wrong. May usually keeps Peter contained to his bedroom when he’s sick.

“Why does your entire living room look like a dumpster fire?” asks Tony. “Where’s May?” There’s no way she’d allow Peter to turn the apartment into the mess it is currently. Not even when he’s sick. 

“She had that - um - she that had -”says Peter. Tony puts his hand on his forehead, and nearly burns himself, he’s so hot. “Conference. She’s at a conference.” 

“You’ve got quite the fever.”

“Yeah.”

“Should’ve called me sooner,” says Tony. He puts his hands on Peter’s shoulders, and directs him back towards the couch, forcing him to lay back down. 

“I knew it was Morgan’s big day,” says Peter, burrowing under the blankets Tony throws on him. “Figured you were stressed enough. How are you taking it?” 

Only Peter Parker would ask how someone else it’s doing while he’s sick and disgusting. Tony smiles fondly. It’s part of the kid’s charm. 

“Like a knife in my heart.” 

Peter laughs, which is a mistake, because his chuckle turns into coughing fit. 

Tony looks on with pity, then springs into action. He busts out the dehumidifier and plugs it in, and then works on making the kid’s drink. He cracks open a bottle of Gatorade, and puts into a bendy straw, one that’s printed with small Iron Man cartoons. 

Peter rolls his eyes when he sees it, but accepts the drink anyway. 

Now that that’s settled, Tony puts the juice pops he bought in the freezer, and begins making the brat’s soup. Peter has dozed off by the time it’s finished, with just his left arm hanging out of the blanket, his fingers barely brushing the carpet. 

Tony sets up a TV tray, and brings over the steaming hot soup and crackers, before sitting on the edge of the couch and gently nudging the kid awake. 

He blinks a couple of times, yawns, and eventually sits up. “Mmmm thanks Tony.” 

“You’re welcome, kid,” says Tony. “I’m surprised you called today, with the amount of grief you give me about my, uh -”

“-helicoptering,” finishes Peter, while he slurps down a spoonful of soup. “And, um, Pepper told me to call you.”

“What?”

“Well May must’ve let it slip to Pepper that I was here sick,” says Peter. “Cause Pepper texted me today and told me have you help me out. She said you really needed the distraction.” 

“Oh did she?”

“Yeah,” says Peter. “But I’m glad she did.” Peter looks down at his soup. “I actually don’t mind all the fussing. I just don’t want you to  _ know  _ that I don’t mind it.” 

“Good thing you just told me, then.”

“I’m on a lot of cold medicine, Tony, I’m not really in control of what I’m saying.” 

Tony laughs. “We can just forget this conversation happened.”

“ _ Good _ .” Peter takes another soup full of soup. “Did you get juice pops, too?”

“Of course I did.” Even though he hadn’t asked for them. Tony doesn’t mention this part.

“Good.” He repeats.

It clicks in Tony’s mind in that moment, that if this nearly grown superpowered teenager is willingly to ask him for juice pops and soup, that maybe it’s impossible for children to outgrow their parents. That their relationship might change, but they will still call when they need soup or breakdown on the side of the road. 

Hell, that’s enough for Tony.

Peter finishes eating the soup, slurping every single mouthful. Tony takes the empty bowl, rinses it, and loads the dishwasher. He brings back a juice pop for him, but the kid is already tuckered out again, buried under a mountain of blankets and barely visible. 

He puts the popsicle back in the freezer. He lets Peter rest. 

*

Tony’s car is first in the pick up line. 

He’s aware that it’s annoying for other parents to get out of his car, but he doesn’t care. He’s waiting for his daughter. 

She runs to him when her teacher allows her too, and Tony kneels down, hugging her. 

“Did you have fun?”

“Yeah!” says Morgan. “I made so many new friends!”

“I bet you did.”

She sighs, and bites her lip. “I missed you, though.” 

“I missed you too,” says Tony. “But you know what?”

“What?”

“I’m always gonna be here at the end of the day, or whenever you call me.” 

Morgan smiles, gives him another hug, and climbs into her booster seat. 

There’s light contentment in Tony’s chest, and there’s a scratch in the back of his throat. That damn kid and his slimy germs. He coughs as he drives away, but he doesn’t have any regrets. 

**Author's Note:**

> fjdlsafjlds I canNOT believe this month is over!! thanks everyone who's made it this far!
> 
> comments and kudos let me know what you think!! <3 <3 <3


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